Look Deeper
by torib0o
Summary: Neji is always pushing Shikamaru, but, because he loves him, Shikamaru takes Neji's chiding. What happens one night when Neji grows tired of Shikamaru seemingly uncaring complacency and walks away from him. Fluff and Gang Violence *GIFT FOR DRAGONNEVA*
1. Miscommunication and Misunderstandings

A/N: So, this fic is a gift for Dragonneva.

Hope you enjoy ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

--

The club was packed that night, fog covering the expanse of the bodies on the dance floor. The floor itself seemed to move with the sway of the hundreds of people dancing upon it, the thump of electronic music nearly tangible.

Outside, the night was perfect; dark and cold with the scent of pine heavy in the air. It was the perfect night to be inside club Celestial; the bright neon light shimmering and lighting up not only the block it was on, but, several over.

Back inside, amidst the grinding bodies and pulsing lights, a young couple was pressed into a dark corner towards the back of the expansive club, pressed tightly together as heated words passed the lips of one to the ears of the other. They were imperceptible amongst the sea of bodies and no one along the back wall noticed that the two were speaking instead of pressing their bodies together in a way most forbidden and feeling the pleasure of being connected as one.

The smaller of the two, a pale eyed beauty dressed in gray skinny jeans, black Beatle boots, and a soft leather jacket covering a white t-shirt held his hands on his narrow hips, his long brown hair swept into a messy bun as a long piece continually fluttered in his face. His cheeks were red with anger as he stared at his boyfriend who was leaning against the filthy club wall.

His boyfriend, although larger in size and stature was younger than the pale eyed man, dressed similarly and appeared as though he was on verge of sleep despite the blinding strobe lights and the music pulsing in the air.

The night had started off normally enough, the younger of the two lounging on their living room couch, watching nature documentaries when his lover sauntered in the room, wearing nothing more than a smile and a skimpy pair of shorts. Neji, his lover, stood directly in front of the television, asking if the younger wouldn't mind going out that evening, which was no different than what he did any other day.

The pale eyed man was always trying to get his lover to be more active in society, usually failing in his self appointed task. This evening, however, his lover gave in and Neji couldn't have been more ecstatic.

Over the next few hours, Shikamaru, Neji's lover, did everything the Hyuuga asked, although, his compliancy only lasted so long. He took Neji to a movie, one the Hyuuga had been dying to see since he saw the first preview, took him to a nice restaurant and even after the meal, when Shikamaru's lethargy was at its peak, he still took Neji to the nightclub that the elder had been dropping hints about all evening.

It was when Neji tried to force him onto the dance floor that Shikamaru had to put down his foot and refuse. He'd done it politely, kindly even, telling Neji that he just wanted to rest and have a drink, going so far as asking if the Hyuuga he wanted something as well since Shikamaru was footing the bill. Neji, however, wouldn't have it and stomped his foot childishly, asking why Shikamaru could never do anything for him, why he was so lazy and self serving, which was how they ended up against the back wall of a club.

Never wanting to be the center of attention, although hardly caring what others thought of him, Shikamaru dragged Neji back to where they stood at the moment, against the filthy wall of the nightclub, wanting to save the older man from humiliating himself in such a crowded place. Neji berated him and tore him down and Shikamaru could only roll his eyes. He knew it wasn't often that he took Neji out and swept the older man off his feet but he told him daily how much he loved him and pampered him at home, when he had the energy, but, he knew Neji was a complainer and he complained if things weren't exactly to his liking.

"…and then all you do is stand there and roll your eyes when I'm trying to talk to you about something serious!"

Shikamaru only could stuff his hands in his pockets and try to think of what he could possibly do to calm his livid lover down. _'Maybe tickets to the opera next week….or was it the ballet he wanted to see? Shit.'_

"Well, I've had enough! If you can't listen to me, I'm leaving!"

'_Maybe I should just buy the best of Pavarotti and tape the- wait…what?!'_ Shikamaru's eyebrows shot up as his jaw dropped. Where was Neji? He was sure the older man had been standing before him, yelling at him just a moment before, where could he have gone so quickly?

--

"That self centered, bigheaded….bigheaded _jerk_!" Neji spoke heatedly to himself as he trekked the cold streets back to the apartment he shared with Shikamaru. He sat down at a dimly lit bus stop and ran a hand over his face. "What the hell is wrong with you, Neji?" he asked himself.

He knew Shikamaru had been nothing but kind to him that evening and was always kind to him, but, he always pressed and pulled and prodded at the younger man, trying to force him into doing things that didn't need to be done. There was no question of his love for Shikamaru and no question of the Nara's love for him; there were certain things that didn't need to be said, but, he couldn't understand for the life of him what it was that he, Neji, was searching for.

'_Maybe I should go back and apologize.'_ He thought to himself before groaning aloud. "_God_, how could I have been such a brat?" He leaned his head back and sighed. _'He's probably spoiling me; no one's ever been so sweet to me for so long.'_ Neji took a deep breath before standing and turning back in the direction of the club.

He furrowed his brow after a few minutes of his walking; he hadn't remembered walking quite so far from the club. Inwardly, he prayed he hadn't gotten lost, but, he told himself that, that was unlikely; Neji had a flawless sense of direction, almost as though he could see his destination from miles away through buildings and skyscrapers.

It was when he'd been walking for half an hour that Neji began to feel slivers of fear creeping up his spine. He'd thought he was on the right track back to the club, but, he was just getting lost deeper and deeper within the city. Had it been daylight, he inwardly thought, he would've been able to find his way easily. Calling Shikamaru crossed his mind a number of times, but, his phone's service had been out all night.

He stopped and took a deep breath. It was nearly midnight and he was starting to get paranoid; every rustle of abandoned newspapers on the street made him jump and the sounds of cats meowing at the moon startled him. He started walking once more when he heard what sounded like footsteps, but, put the thought in the back of his mind, telling himself that his paranoia had finally reached it's peak.

--

At one in the morning, Nara Shikamaru was pacing his living room floor as he spoke on the phone with a police officer.

"We've been over this," he said, irritation clear in his voice. "I know the typical case requires twenty four hours for the person to be considered missing, but, he isn't a typical case."

"_**Sir, I'm sorry you're having trouble finding your friend, but, we really can't do anything for-"**_

"_Jesus Christ_! Do you know how big this fucking city is? He could be in the process of being maimed, mugged, or murdered and no one would know until it's too late because you're too lazy to get off your fucking ass and look for my fucking boyfriend! Shitty ass police service! And when it's too late, all you'll be able is to say 'twenty four hours; that's procedure.' Fuck you!"

He'd probably get hell for the way he handled that situation, but, he was beyond anxious and Nara Shikamaru did not cope well with anxiousness. It was over three hours prior that Neji stalked out of the club and Shikamaru had no one idea where else Neji would go near eleven at night besides their apartment; Neji's family, like Shikamaru's, lived in the next city over and their friends were far too intrusive for Neji to deal with when he was annoyed.

He took a minute to think before pulling out his cell phone and calling customer service. After minutes of answering pointless questions, a customer service representative came on the line and Shikamaru sighed a breath of momentary relief.

"Yes, I was wondering if you can locate the other phone registered on this account with the GPS system."

--

Neji had never liked crying; the feeling of tears and snot running down your face as your body convulsed violently, but, now, it was all he could do.

He hadn't been wrong when he thought someone was following him, sans the fact that it was more than one person. When they first man flipped him around by his shoulder, Neji was able to push him away and run down the street and when the second and third came, he pushed them away with some difficulty but after the sixth man, he lost count of them and along with that, his strength.

He felt them grabbing at his long, silken hair and pressing against his imperceptible Adam's Apple, choking him painfully. Initially, he thought they would rape him, as plentiful as they were, but, after they began to beat him bloody and he felt them searching his pockets, he realized that they must've been part of a gang and were only looking to rob him.

Time blurred as he continued to cry out, feeling rough punches to his gut and face, and steel toed boots kicking at his lower back and he prayed no damage to his kidneys would be done. He whimpered when hands were backing his hair, pulling him up against the wall of a brick building.

"Such a pretty little bitch." One of the men said; he was considerably larger than Neji and the Hyuuga couldn't felt but quietly let his tears continue to fall, mixing with his bloodied cheeks. "Aww, I think he's crying."

Neji grimaced when he felt the back of that rough, dirty hand tracing his face and couldn't hold back the bile rising in his throat, vomiting weakly.

"Euck!" the man exclaimed when the young man gagged. "Disgusting bitch." He slapped Neji across the face and pulled out a switchblade with the hand covered in Neji's sick. He flipped the blade open and cut Neji's across left cheek shallowly before slicing the knife deeply into his upper right arm and it was then, in his hazy mind, that Neji realized he'd lost his jacket.

"Shit! I hear someone coming!" one of the other men yelled causing the lot of them to take off in different directions.

The man holding Neji by his hair smirked before roughly thrusting his knife into Neji's left shoulder before harshly retracting and plunging it into Neji's lower right side, twisting is back and forth quickly before pulling it out and leaving the Hyuuga there to bleed.

After an inordinate amount of time, Neji tried to push himself up on his hands and knees, coughing up a large amount of blood. He pulled himself up along the wall of the building, holding onto wall for balance. His body ached so badly and he could feel the blood dripping from his wounds. He'd just reached the street when he felt his body giving out. Breaths were hard to come by as his knees trembled and he fell to the ground below.

"Neji?! _Neji!_"

He opened his eyes slowly. Had he lost consciousness? Where was he? He could hear his name being called and feel himself being pulled into a familiar embrace, but, he was still on his stomach. Why? What was happening?

"Oh, god." He could hear a familiar deep voice wavering as large hands gently touched his back, only touching around spots that seemed so tender. "Oh, baby."

'_Baby…? God, it hurts, it hurts so badly.'_

--

Shikamaru pressed his head to Neji's, trying to hold back tears as he pressed the green call button twice, instantly connecting to a dispatcher to tell the woman his location and the situation.

This was not how he'd expected to find Neji and he was more than wary of moving the series of blades in his lover's back. When the customer service representative told him Neji's location, Shikamaru nearly gasped aloud. The city they lived in was ridiculously large and even one who'd lived there for their entire life, could easily get lost, but, Shikamaru knew the area where Neji was and knew that no one visited that part of the city of the gangs that roamed the streets.

He released a soft sob as he ran his fingers through Neji's once silken hair, now thick with grime and blood. He gently turned his lover in his arms, careful of the blades protruding from Neji's as he sat him in an upright position, one arm around his neck and the other low on his back.

The sounds of sirens were clear in the air, but, Shikamaru couldn't hear them over the sound of his sobs and Neji's stuttered, shallow breathing.

--

Chapter I

This fic is for Dragonneva. I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter because there will be one more ^_^

Shika's a little OOC because you know…Neji's like bleeding excessively in his arms.

Reviews are appreciated.

-torib0o(10/07/09)


	2. Reconciliation and Confessions

A/N: I feel like this chapter has been a long time in coming. Once again, for Dragonneva.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

--

Shikamaru gripped Neji's hand firmly as the elder man slept soundly. There was something Shikamaru disliked about hospitals, something he couldn't name, however, he was sure what he disliked about this particular hospital was the fact that his lover was occupying the facility. He sighed softly as his eyes fell on Neji's marred face once more. Neji, as worried as he would be about his health, would be happy that his face was blemished only by a black eye and a large bruise on his cheek.

The doctors told Shikamaru that Neji had a narrow scrape with death and assured him quickly that the Hyuuga would survive. There was minimal damage to Neji's kidneys, however, the stab wounds in his left shoulder and right hip were extremely deep and bled profusely. It took a blood transfusion, staples, and stitches to save him, along with a series of antibiotics to prevent infection from the filthy instrument used to mutilate him.

Three days had passed and it broke Shikamaru's heart to go home each night while Neji lay alone in the hospital. When Neji hadn't awoken after the first day, Shikamaru angrily demanded to know what was wrong with his lover and the doctor simply told him that Neji's body had been through a severe amount of trauma and he may not wake for a long while.

He felt his eyes fill with tears and he lowered his head to rest on bed, still grasping Neji's hand in his own. He'd never felt so heavy with guilt, so laden with remorse and while, logically, he knew it wasn't his fault Neji was beaten so brutally, he couldn't help but feel if he'd listened to Neji more, if he'd been slightly more attentive, the older man wouldn't be connected to a plethora of machines in a sterile hospital room.

His shoulders shook as he worked to contain his sobs and squeezed Neji's hand, whispering through his sobs.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "Please, god, I'm _so sorry_. I just want him back; please bring him back to me. I swear, everyday, I'll do anything he asks of me, I'll tell him how much he means to me. I'll stop being so lazy, I'll take him places and tell him how beautiful he is. I'll pay attention to him, but, I need him; I need him more than anything."

--

He blinked slowly against fluorescent lighting and groaned softly at the pounding in his head. His mouth was drier than sandpaper and his body felt unnaturally cold. As he shifted, he could feel a tight grip on his hand and frowned at the sudden sound of muffled sobs.

As he heard his lover's voice whispering around choked sobs, his heart clenched painfully. He listened to Shikamaru plead for his life, and it was then that his beating slowly flowed back to his mind.

He made a soft sound and twisted the hand in Shikamaru's grasp, garnering the younger's attention after a mere moment, and when Shikamaru looked at him with red rimmed eyes and tearstained cheeks, Neji's heart broke. How heartless he'd been, how selfish. How could he treat Shikamaru the way he had? How could he have been so cruel?

He flinched at the pain in his face as Shikamaru cupped his cheek and hushed him. "Don't cry, Neji."

--

He leaned down and gently pressed his forehead to Neji's. He was so happy, so overjoyed that Neji was finally awake and he longed to pull his lover into his arms, but, he was wary of Neji's battered body and settled on pressing soft kisses to unmarred pieces of flesh.

"Baby, I'm so happy you're awake." He whispered. "And I'm so sorry; I swear, I will never let you feel as though I'm not listening to you. I love you, Neji."

Neji felt as though it took every ounce of his strength as he lifted his hand to place it atop Shikamaru's and when the Nara looked to him once more, he felt fresh tears spring to his eyes. He mouthed the word water and smiled gratefully as his lover lifted a cup to his lips and helped him drink.

"I should go tell someone you're awake." Shikamaru said as he brushed his fingers through Neji's hair, touching him as though he was made of finely spun glass.

"Wait," Neji rasped and immediately, Shikamaru was at his side.

"What is it? Do you need something?"

Neji shook his head with much effort and furrowed his brow.

"Shh," he cooed. "Take your time, it's alright."

He shook his head once more, his eyes clouded, troubled, as he looked at Shikamaru. "Know I love you." He whispered.

"What?"

He locked eyes with the Nara, his own filling to the brim with tears. "Know that I love you," he sobbed. "Know that I need you."

Shikamaru shushed him as he pressed his forehead to Neji's, holding his lover's lacerated hands in his own. "I know, I know it."

"Know you're my everything!" Shikamaru held Neji's head to his chest, fighting to keep his own tears at bay as he felt the older boy weakly gripping his shirt. "I'm sorry I'm so shallow and that I ask you to do so much, but, I know you love me."

"I know you do." Shikamaru told him quietly, feeling Neji continuing to shake his head.

"You do so much for me every day and I always ask for more, while you ask nothing of me. How can you care for me? How can you love me?"

Shikamaru smiled softly and sat down on Neji's bed, holding one of his lover's hands. "Even though you do, do the things you say, you have to realize that, I love everything about you; even your overbearing nature. But, when you're sweet and gentle and telling me about your day at work and how things went right or wrong, I know that's my baby and he's who I love. So what if you've got negative attributes? I know I do and I know you love me despite them." He stroked the back of Neji's hand tenderly. "I don't care that you're 'shallow' and I don't care that you ask a lot of me, because you're my baby and you will always be my baby."

Neji sniffled and asked softly. "Really?"

Shikamaru grinned crookedly and pressed a soft kissed to Neji's jaw. "Indefinitely." As he looked up he found Neji wincing slightly as he grinned widely and Shikamaru couldn't help but wrap the Hyuuga in his arms gently. "It doesn't take much to look a little deeper."

As a doctor walked in, the two broke apart, happy smiles still on their faces. They knew their problems weren't resolved completely, but, they'd brought them to the surface and that was a start. Shallow actions and words would be the death of their love, but, as they knew, if you look below the surface and look deep, then it won't take much to keep your heart and your love alive.

--

End!

That last paragraph…

I'm sort of unhappy there lol, but, to Dragonneva, who this is a gift for, j'espère tu as aime l'histoire. ^_^ Et, je suis desole(e) elle était tard.

Oh! You guys probably won't get it, unless I have a reader who digs the 'old school' type of music (I'm talking 90's ladies and dudes) but, I accidently slipped in part of a song lyric in this fic SO if you can tell me what song it's from or the artist….or both, I'll do you a solid and write you a fic or your choosing. A three shot would be the MAXIMUM. There will only be one winner~

**AND THE WIN GOES TO:eggomilburnigan**

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating!

Laters and hasta ^_^

-torib0o (11/26/09)


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